Manchester United: The mediocrity exposed!

Moyes disappointed as United lose to Stoke City

The Red Devils have failed to retrieve even a solitary point in the final ten minutes of a league game.

The fact above just goes to show how mediocre Manchester United have been this season. United have gone from a title-winning team who won the Premiership by a landslide 11 points last season to a team who is currently languishing in seventh position with a meagre 40 points from 24 league matches.

Although unrealistic talks of reclaiming their title may still echo from the United contingent, their best bet is to clinch a Champions League place at the end of the season. They are currently 7 points behind 4^th placed Liverpool and have already succumbed to an unimaginable eight league defeats.

To put it in perspective, United suffer one defeat every three league games.

With a managerial change taking place for the first time in 27 years at Old Trafford, this looks more like David Moyes’ Everton rather than Sir Alex Ferguson’s Manchester United.

The transition was never going to be an easy one. Ferguson’s success at the club will be unparalleled. His record of 38 trophies in 26 years at one single club will, in my estimate, never be surpassed.

Such daunting numbers would only have motivated Moyes to succeed at Old Trafford but his problems arose during the summer transfer window when he failed to recognize the shortcomings prevalent in United’s squad.

Defence: Their defence was below par even in Ferguson’s last season, although it was masked by the exquisite finishing of Robin van Persie, whose goals essentially won them the title. United usually conceded the first goal in league matches last season, before storming back in typical Ferguson fashion to win the encounter. Despite boasting one of the league’s top goalkeepers in David de Gea, United conceded 43 goals last season which is way more than the previous four seasons:

Season	Goals conceded
2008-09	24
2009-10	28
2010-11	37
2011-12	33
2012-13	43

The likes of Patrice Evra, Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic, who formed the backbone of the club’s imposing defence in recent years, are all past their prime and look set to exit the club at the end of the season. Although Jonny Evans and Chris Smalling have been able to steady the ship, they have conceded that odd goal which has seen United drop valuable points.

Rafael had an amazing 2012-13 season at right-back but he has regressed under Moyes this season. The Brazilian’s injuries haven’t helped but he looks like he can make the position his own in the coming seasons. However, just like Sir Alex last season, Dayid Moyes has inexplicably used Valencia at right-back this season, and with disastrous consequences. The 28-year-old has been found out on a number of occasions, most notably when United lost at home to Everton and Tottenham Hotspur.

Midfield: United traditionally play with two out-and-out wingers, who have been nothing short of woeful in recent times. Discounting Ryan Giggs, the trio of Ashley Young, Antonio Valencia and Nani had a horrid 2012-13 season as they mustered only a paltry two league goals between them. Although their performances have improved this season, they are not world-class material and it is no surprise that all three are linked with summer exits as Moyes looks to rebuild the squad he inherited from Sir Alex.

One shining light in such a torrid campaign has been the impact made by the reserve team player Adnan Januzaj, who has made a dream start to his United career with some matured displays. His performances just go to show how poor Young, Valencia and Nani have been this season.

The only change in the centre midfield department from last season is the arrival of Marouane Fellaini and the exit of Paul Scholes, who retired along with Ferguson. The class of Scholes is unquestionable but the same cannot be said of Fellaini, who has failed to show why his former manager spent £27.5 million for his services.

Michael Carrick cannot run the midfield all on his own and he has got absolutely no support from Tom Cleverley, once touted as the next Scholes. The return to action of Darren Fletcher can only boost United’s nightmare season so far, while Wayne Rooney will be hoping he doesn’t have to fill in as a central midfielder like he did against Stoke last weekend.

Shinji Kagawa doesn’t look like the player he once was at Borussia Dortmund for whom he won two league titles. He recently said that he was ‘irritated’ with his lack of contribution on the pitch so far. He may not be able to address his poor performances as his opportunities just might dwindle with the arrival of Juan Mata as an attacking threat.

Forwards: With the defence in tatters, and the midfield seemingly non-existent, it was the forwards who stepped up to the plate last season. The impact of van Persie cannot be quantified. How David Moyes has missed the prolific striker in the last two months.

The trio of van Persie, Rooney and Hernandez scored a total of 48 league goals between them last season, with the former bagging the Golden Boot award for the second successive season. The Dutchman needs to come to the fore again if United want to overhaul Liverpool in the race for fourth.

Also, Moyes needs to make sure he retains the services of Rooney, who has easily been United’s player of the season so far.

Although the blame of United’s current debacle will solely fall on David Moyes, who was unable to attract his top targets in the summer window, the players also have to shoulder the burden. Most members of the first-team are simply not good enough to wear the Manchester United logo on their chest, despite winning the title last season.

Would any of United’s squad make the first-team at Bayern Munich, Real Madrid or Barcelona on a regular basis? Barring Wayne Rooney and Robin van Persie, probably not.

It just goes to show what a legendary manager Sir Alex Ferguson was. The fear he instilled in the opponents has dissipated under Moyes this season, part of the reason why United have failed to recover points or win matches in the last ten minutes of league action. By this time last season, they had already earned a massive 11 points in the last ten minutes of games, dubbed Fergie time, which would have been enough to put them in fourth position at the expense of Liverpool.

If United want to be successful in the future, Moyes has to revamp the squad. He has made a brilliant start with the signing of Mata, and although things might not have gone according to plan in their 2-1 reversal, the next few transfer windows will be crucial.